We talk a lot about how a Rapid Application Delivery (RAD) solution like OutSystems Platform can enable IT organizations to deliver custom mobile and web applications more efficiently than traditional methods. But it occurred to me as I was reading a recently published On the Radar by analyst firm Ovum how much the success of a RAD platform depends on the provider’s ability to keep pace with change.

The report states:

In Ovum’s view, the core value proposition of OutSystems offering has stayed the same: rapid programming-free application development and deployment capability, with the solution staying in sync with the needs of modern enterprise development teams.

And then later:

In Ovum’s view, the OutSystems offering has kept pace with the changing application development landscape, and its support for mobile application development needs is especially commendable.

The need for rapid application delivery goes back at least 13 years, when OutSystems got its start. But the pain points and challenges enterprises face today are quite different than they were back then. From the evolution of development languages, to the advent of mobile apps, to the role of enterprise apps as revenue generators, to Microsoft recently announcing that they would open source .NET, a lot has changed in application development. It doesn’t matter how fast you code if you can’t keep pace with technology churn.

Our goal has always been the same – to help enterprise customers create, deploy and manage custom applications more efficiently – but our offering has evolved in response to your changing needs. For example, OutSystems Platform helps enterprises build not just custom web applications, but also mobile and hybrid applications. It is also leveraged not only on-premises, but in the cloud and hybrid as well. The PaaS solution is easy to use and manage, and enables faster time to market. We evolve so customers don’t have to waste precious time there. Who has time to build bench strength in HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript – and it’s ever-changing frameworks, integrating dev and ops, Java, C#, ObjectiveC – wait…I mean Swift, phones and tablets – oh and wearables, etc? It is never ending and daunting.

You know the visual of the duck smooth as silk on the surface of the water, while their legs are driving like mad underneath? We’re the legs – dealing with technology churn, advances in the state-of-the-art, changes in the landscape, etc. The cool-as-a-cucumber topside duck? That’s you.

The applications we need to build and how we build them will continue to change. And OutSystems will continue to meet enterprises where they are, innovating to enable them to harness the trends that move their business forward.

About the author

Sean Allen

Providing passionate perspectives on a variety of modern IT topics, Sean currently pours his energy into changing how the world thinks about delivering beautifully functional applications while injecting unprecedented efficiency into a status quo that threatens to swallow enterprise IT whole.

This is a very informative post and Jimmy does a great job of showing how hard it is to keep up with just one piece of the overall stack we’re talking about here. We think the answer is quite a bit different than “keep doing what you’re doing, but use microlibraries”. We think it is “create stability and efficiency through abstraction”… Keep your eye on the prize, which is the end product, not the ever-changing ingredients.

Developers and others who are passionate about OutSystems Platform—and infuse this passion in all they do—matter to us. To show our appreciation, on May 2, 2016, at the Developers Morning event in Lisbon, an awesome group of people became OutSystems MVPs.
We could list a few of them here, but that wouldn’t be fair to the others because they’re all so amazing. You can get to know them on their very own MVP web page.

OutSystems is pleased to announce a new and improved home for our growing worldwide developer Community. We have created a brand new Community homepage, and we improved our developer forums by adding requested features to make life better for everyone using them. Come check out the Community enhancements!